Chapter 3

Ethan let out a cold laugh.

He didn't believe me.

But when he saw the thick beads of sweat pouring down my forehead, his grip suddenly loosened.

I quickly bandaged my wound with practiced ease and swallowed my clotting medication.

Looking at the shattered glass and crushed flowers on the floor, a bitter taste filled my mouth.

"Ethan, can you please just get out?"

Instead, Ethan walked over to the glass door, turned the sign from "Open" to "Closed," and locked it.

He suppressed his anger. "Chloe, we need to talk."

I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed a handful of ruined white roses and threw them right at his face.

"Get out! Stop wasting my business hours!"

The next second, a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills slammed against my cheek, stinging like a slap.

Ethan looked down at me with pure disgust. "Can we talk now?"

It was enough to cover two of my dialysis sessions.

I bit my lip, swallowed my pride, and knelt down to pick up the cash.

"Fine."

A soft chuckle came from above me.

It was quiet.

But it felt like a heavy stone, crushing my spine so hard I couldn't stand up straight.

"Chloe, how much money will it take for you to leave Vicky alone?"

Ethan was convinced I was pulling strings behind the scenes to make Vicky cry.

My heart was too tired to argue.

I looked up. "How much are you willing to give?"

Ethan hesitated for a moment. "Thirty thousand."

Ten thousand more than before.

I pulled out my bank card, which had a balance of less than five dollars. "Transfer it."

Ethan's eyes filled with disappointment, as if he had just confirmed his worst fears about me.

"I have conditions. You close this shop today, pack your bags, and go back to our hometown."

"Delete all your social media accounts. Snapchat, Instagram, all of them. Change your phone number..."

To protect Vicky, he wanted me to vanish from the face of the earth.

Why was he in such a rush?

I didn't have much time left anyway.

Suddenly, loud, frantic banging echoed from the glass door. It was Vicky.

Ethan rushed to unlock it.

"Vicky? How did you get here? Did she say something to you again?"

He turned and glared at me with pure hatred.

Vicky walked straight toward me and, without warning, fell to her knees.

"Chloe, I'm begging you, please don't take Ethan away from me. I can't live without him..."

My mind felt like a rubber band stretched to its absolute limit.

Vicky was reminding me with her very presence: I owed her my life. Twice.

Years ago, right before her SATs, I fell dangerously ill.

Her guidance counselor told her not to miss the exam to stay by my hospital bed.

But she had said, "Chloe and I only have each other. I can't live without her."

And seven years ago, during the bone marrow transplant, she had said the exact same thing.

My vision blurred with tears.

The pain in my chest was so agonizing that I started blaming myself. Why was I clinging so desperately to life anyway?

Ethan pulled her into his arms, whispering promises that he would never leave her.

He used to whisper those exact same promises to me.

But now, they belonged to Vicky.

I forced down the metallic taste of blood in my throat and whispered, "Don't worry. I never planned on taking him back."

A flash of confusion crossed Ethan's eyes. His grip on Vicky tightened.

"Chloe, do you actually mean that?"

I kept my eyes down, straightening the crumpled cash. "Give me three months. I'll disappear completely. I won't get in your way ever again."

"Chloe..."

Vicky reached out to touch me, but I stepped back, avoiding her hand.

She stumbled toward the counter, but her eyes caught the medical report I had hidden under the money.

As she read the bold letters on the page, her face went deathly pale, as if she were being choked.

"A relapse? How is that possible?"

"The doctors said we caught it early... our compatibility rate was incredibly high. They said you had a 90% chance of a full recovery..."

Shock and guilt tore through her face.

She collapsed back into Ethan's arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Ethan's face went cold.

"Chloe, you actually forged a fake medical report just to make Vicky feel guilty? Are you trying to kill her?"